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Vendor to Watch: Chargifi Ltd.

Get the word to your customers soon: The question isn’t if they offer wireless device charging. The question is simply when.

“This technology is going to be ubiquitous,” says Helen Attia, head of sales and marketing at Chargifi Ltd. “Every business everywhere is going to need to provide wireless charging in some capacity.”

Indeed, global spending on wireless charging technology will leap from $5.2 billion this year to $71.2 billion in 2025, according to Allied Market Research, as people used to powering their mobile hardware without cables at home demand the ability to do so in the places they work and shop as well.

“It’s analogous to Wi-Fi access,” says Frank Raimondi, Chargifi’s strategic channel and business development director. “10 years ago, Wi-Fi was a nice thing to have, but you expected to pay for it. Now you go into a coffee shop or a bar and if it doesn’t have Wi-Fi a lot of people are likely to just turn around and leave.”

That’s good news for Chargifi, which makes an end-to-end wireless device charging platform. Sold exclusively through the channel, the system combines locally-deployed hardware and software with a centralized, cloud-based management portal.

“Wherever people are hanging out, we provide power,” says Raimondi. “Rather than leaving to find a plug on the wall, you can stay where you’re at and charge your phone.”

And the longer customers stay put where they are, he continues, the more they’re likely to spend. In fact, a hotel chain using Chargifi’s solution measured a 64 percent increase in revenue per customer in its lobby bars after deploying the system.

“They’re dwelling longer because of the ability to sit and charge, and they’re also therefore spending more money,” Attia says.

They’re doing so without interruption, too, because the Chargifi platform includes remote management functionality that automatically sends alerts when it spots technical issues.

“MSPs in particular can proactively manage the devices and make sure they’re always running,” Raimondi says, and earn recurring revenue in the process. “The last thing a venue wants to see is a customer going away disappointed.”

Venue operators also appreciate the Chargifi solution’s built-in analytics functionality, which automatically collects data businesses can use to study usage patterns and calculate ROI. That’s a unique selling point for the system, according to Lester Keizer, CEO of Business Continuity Technologies, an MSP in Las Vegas.

“Data is king,” he observes. “While there are other vendors that provide wireless charging hardware, there’s none really with data.”

Sales prospects have little trouble appreciating the Chargifi system’s value proposition, adds Keizer, who has added several major casinos to his client base with Chargifi’s help.

“Those places would not have even talked to us in the last few months, but because of this, it’s been the start, I think, of an incredible journey,” he says.

According to Attia, partners like Keizer often find wireless charging an easy way to boost the size of network, communication, and collaboration deals.

Get an edge on the competition

With each issue packed full of powerful news, reviews, analysis, and advice targeting IT channel professionals, ChannelPro-SMB will help you cultivate your SMB customers and run your business more profitably.